I bought a Kenmore Ultra Wash dishwasher in September of 2005. The model # is 665. It has been working fine until recently. Now, the dishes on the upper rack are not getting clean. I took apart the Feed Tube Assembly to make sure there was nothing blocking the water flow but it was clear. There are two holes where the Manifold slides into the Feed Tube. My thought is that the holes are not sealing properly (there is a rubber seal that flaps open but these stay slightly open) and because of that there is not enough water pressure created to spray the dishes on the top shelf. Does it seem like I am on the right track? My second thought is that there is something wrong with the pump. Everything on the bottom rack is clean and the dishes in the middle of the second shelf are clean too. It is only the dishes that are on the outer edge of the upper rack that are not clean. I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

Whirlpool built Kenmore, two motors ( one for draining and one for washing ) sideways wash motor assembly style.

Quote: the dishes on the upper rack are not getting clean.

If your water level in your dishwasher is fine ( near element ), and its still not pumping the water around, check the chopper blade and check valve rubber flapper inside the wash pump assy. Chopper blade may be clogged up, check valve rubber may be deteriated. If these all are ok, a new motor and pump assy may be required.

Just want to say thanks!!!! I cleaned the chopper blade area and my dishes are getting clean again. There was not a lot of stuff or anything huge blocking the area but what a difference it has made. Thanks.

I have a Kenmore dishwasher (almost the same model, but 1603, not 1703) and was having this same problem. I googled last week, found this thread, and tonight my husband performed the recommended fix. I now have sparkly clean dishes again. Thank you, Jeff!

I have an 18 mopnth old (bought in spring 2008) kenmore 665.13742k601 that was having this same problem. I used the directions in this thread, including especially the link to the service manual. I removed a massive amount of hard water stone, and voila, it is working like new. Thank you thank you.

One thing I noticed - the manual for the whirlpool on p 21 shows a "Foreign Object Protector" attached to the sump. My kenmore doesn't have that. Anyone know if that is a change because its (a) a kenmore not a whirlpool or (b) because mine is maybe a slightly different model or (c)because they left is out when they built mine

Quote: One thing I noticed - the manual for the whirlpool on p 21 shows a "Foreign Object Protector" attached to the sump. My kenmore doesn't have that. Anyone know if that is a change because its (a) a kenmore not a whirlpool or (b) because mine is maybe a slightly different model or (c)because they left is out when they built mine

I did the clean out of the chopper and still have dishes comming out wit little grains of "stuff" on them. Put a camara inside the tub and the bottom arm is turning 30 RPM but the top arm is only turning about 10 RPM and it will come to a complete stop and sit there for a couple of seconds. My guess is it is time for a new dishwasher, do you feel this is the solution?

Kenmore model 665.1737 here with the same problem - Upper rack not getting clean.Checked the inner feed tube (the one that goes from bottom to top. No cracks, blockage or gaps.Checked the connection ports & flaps where the middle sprayer arm connect to high/low ports in the back. Lower flap closes OK, upper flap stuck open due to wear, but this is the only position we use so that's OK.Cleared some debris from inside the sump (below the foriegn object protector), but no fix.Flapper valve checked and was good. (The black bit above the chopper in this picture - slips out with forceps/needlenose pliers)

Checked the chopper assembly (under the inlet protector that covers it - remove the screw and tug up on the screw-hole to remove the cover) and found the perforated plate was clogged with adhesive paper bits from jar labels that had peeled off during washing. Enough bits had accumulated that the chopper blade shaft was broken, so we're ordering a replacement chopper assy (Whirlpool part number 8268383). Installing the replacement's going to be an interesting job.

To remove the broken chopper assy, used a pair of large tweezers to de-couple the white chopper shaft from the black motor shaft that's inside the housing (at the left-hand end of the white shaft and spring in the picture.) They just interlace together like linked fingers, and the spring was easy to compress.

Lessons learned:Don't run labeled jars or cans thru the dishwasher.Torx/Star drive scews work better with the correct tool, but a hex/allen wrench works in a pinch.

I have a related question regarding the food chopper assembly: Is the blade supposed to move freely, independent of the white shaft? Or should it be engaged full time? Does the black driveshaft move forward when grinding is to take place? When assembled, I can rotate the black driveshaft and the blade does not turn.

I ask because I've had to clean out my screen and chopper area every 3 months so that the top rack will get clean. The blade only seems to engage when I push the white shaft forward so that the shapes match up. Thanks

Quote:Thanks, that must be my problem since the blade not only moves independently, but it wiggles freely also.

Since it's wiggling (floppy?) and not just spinning, your coupler teeth may be broken or not engaged. (I'm guessing)The spring should be uncompressed, pushing the white shaft towards the motor.

At the top end of the white shaft in this picture, you can see that there are 4 white teeth. These need to interlock with the black driveshaft's teeth where that comes out of the motor.

The ends of the mating fingers are angle-cut, so they will self-align and engage with each other as long as they are on the same axis. The black shaft has a central guide pin in the center that mates with a hole in the end of white part.

My chopper shaft was broken like this one: You can see the teeth that engage with the black driveshaft. (The chopper blade, washer, screen, washer that goes between the metal "cap" and the spring are missing from this pic.)

Getting a new chopper in was a little fiddly. Wish I'd thought to take pictures.Compressed the spring fully, and used needle nose pliers between the chopper blade and screen to keep it compressed and give me something to hold onto while sliding the chopper assembly down into its slot. (Not the big and inviting slot closest to the motor, the small groove that's next farthest away.)

The hole in the screen is larger than the while plastic shaft so while it's under compression, slide the screen as far UP on the shaft as you can. (Up is the fully round half of the screen, down is the U-shaped half with straight sides)

Then drop the whole assembly into it's slot, making sure it's fully seated on both sides and bottom. Hold the screen in place with one finger and slide the needle nose pliers out to release the spring and let the white plastic teeth engage the black driveshaft.

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas regarding the noise problem. My Kenmore stopped cleaning the upper rack and went searching for an obstruction. Found it where everyone else did (if you think this is annoying try pulling chunks of debris out of every hole in every spray arm every three months like I had to with my last one) and the dishwasher's cleaning like new. The only problem is that it's now extraordinarily noisy. I expected it to be a little less silent since I had been having so little water flow but this is not water noise, more like a loud buzzing. I first thought I had not put things back together correctly so I pulled it apart and reassembled but got the same results. I have a hard time imagining what I could have done in cleaning out the inlet protector to mess things up so badly. Is it possible that something was damaged by having that inlet clogged up and now that there's no obstruction and water is flowing freely the damage is more evident?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had the same problem with my dishwasher and came across this site. With your wonderfully detailed instructions and pictures, I, a housewife, was able to fix it myself! Whoohoo! We were about to go out this weekend and buy a new one! You saved us HUNDREDS of dollars! Who knew all I needed to do was clean all the junk out of the screen? I am so proud of myself! Thanks again!

Was wondering if anyone had any ideas regarding the noise problem. My Kenmore stopped cleaning the upper rack and went searching for an obstruction. Found it where everyone else did (if you think this is annoying try pulling chunks of debris out of every hole in every spray arm every three months like I had to with my last one) and the dishwasher's cleaning like new. The only problem is that it's now extraordinarily noisy. I expected it to be a little less silent since I had been having so little water flow but this is not water noise, more like a loud buzzing. I first thought I had not put things back together correctly so I pulled it apart and reassembled but got the same results. I have a hard time imagining what I could have done in cleaning out the inlet protector to mess things up so badly. Is it possible that something was damaged by having that inlet clogged up and now that there's no obstruction and water is flowing freely the damage is more evident?

Thanks for any help.

Mike

Mike did you find out what the issue was?

Jeff, I'm running into excessive noise as well. Its a loud constant buzzing as well as some grinding sounds. Cleaned the Chopper again and its still in good shape. Wondering what else I can do to investigate?

I have a KitchenAid version of this dishwasher. My unit was making ungodly noise while running. There was nothing in the chopper, and nothing caught in anything.

The problem was the motor itself. The motor shaft seal behind the impeller itself was leaking, and ruined the front bearing on the motor. The guys at the parts store told me that this is a common problem with these Whirlpools.

Replacement of the motor/impeller was the cure. It was not that difficult, and the machine is very quiet now. Sometimes, I cant even hear it running.

Quote: The noise happens when its in between washing and draining. Once the awful noise finally stops, the drain pump kicks in and it sounds fine

Quote: I've opened the door when that noise is happens and its always when there is no water in the tub

Should be water in the d/w "when" the draining starts....make sure the drain hose is not too low and make sure if the drain goes through the floor make sure it is not a too long of a drop down and sucking the water out too early.

Quote: The noise happens when its in between washing and draining. Once the awful noise finally stops, the drain pump kicks in and it sounds fine

Quote: I've opened the door when that noise is happens and its always when there is no water in the tub

Should be water in the d/w "when" the draining starts....make sure the drain hose is not too low and make sure if the drain goes through the floor make sure it is not a too long of a drop down and sucking the water out too early.

jeff.

It drops through the floor about a foot and then goes sideways across to the drain. I'll check inside to make sure the hose is still upright on the washer itself. Anything else I can do to make it higher?

I think that their is nothing to worry about, their may some small thing that needs to be replaces. You can get it checked by an electrician or the service man of that company. You can also get some Dishwasher Accessories that you may require to make it work. I hope that you get it fixed soon.

Quote: I raised the drain hose up about 20' on the back of the washer and it seems to be running better, however that awful noise is still persistent but not as long.

We must be on the right track then.

jeff.

Well this morning it sat there for at least 5-7mins making this noise again. I made a youtube video below. As you can see the tub is bone dry while this is happening. It washes and drains just fine. But this noise cannot be normal! Checked the chopper and it looks good....regardless it doesn't explain the dry tub.

Quote:Did you physically remove the motor from the unit? One bolt, then the motor turns CCW to release. Sounds like something is caught in the pump itself!

My old motor made alot more noise than yours is now.

If you pull the motor, you can have a look at the bearings, and see if there is evidence of water leaking around the back of the seal.

I pulled everything out tonight and I didn't notice any obstruction or bad movement on the wash or drain motor. I'm really stumpted here. It drains and fills fine, but I just don't understand how it washes fine and then has no water left in the tub.

I was just researching a similar problem and came across this thread and I must say it is the most informative I have read!! Not to mention the most helpful.

I found the problem of a clogged chopper a couple years ago on my Kenmore Ultra Wash (sorry I don't have the model# on me but it is identical to the pictures I am seeing). I also had to clean it out every once in a while when I noticed the top rack not getting cleaned.

My problem now is that it gets clogged quite often and the there seems to be some type of fiber plugging the holes which prevents food bits from being pushed through and then it clogs. Has anyone else had this issue? Might it be something wearing out? Rubbing and shredding something? Sorry I did not take a picture but it looks kind of like dryer lint. I can't find anything in the dishwasher, we don't put anything other than dishes in it, no labels or glue from containers, and this has been happening for a while which makes me think something is wearing because something that was dropped inside should have made it's way through by now and not keep plugging over and over.

Food lint looks similier/like clothing lint.Also check water temp ( closer to 140ºF is better ) because if the soap isn't desolved properly any food bits will not be held in suspension and drained away.Chopper may be damaged and not doing it's full job.

Thanks, I'll check on the water temp. I wondered the same because we were using the "puck" type soap and maybe it had something to do with not heating up enough and dissolving. Mid wash I opened the door and there seems to be lots of heat but I will check with a thermometer to be sure. We have since switched back to a liquid soap.

When the screen has been freshly cleaned the dishes are sparkling. Sometimes it only takes about a week to clog up! The fibers seem to be really caught up in the screen holes and the chopper appears fine. Should the blades on the chopper be sharp? It seems to me that it just crams and mashes the food through.

Thanks again for all your help!!

P.S. I have never actually heard of food lint. If that is what I got it sure is excessive. I'll take some pics next clogging.

My DW drain line goes out and loops up to the countertop before going thru the cabinet side into the disposer. Mine has no water going to the disposer until the drain pump kicks in, then it gushes!

I'm still wondering about the bearing on the wash motor. My Kitchenaid was used when I got it, and the previous owner told me the noise the motor made got louder and louder over several years. She decided not to fix it, but replace it (with a plastic Electrolux!) Im thoroughly happy with this DW, and now that its slight problems are fixed, it does an excellent job cleaning!

Quote: Quote: I'm trying it this morning with the drain off and it just draining into a pail downstairs. Not a drop of water has came out during the cycle!

Why? Kinked the hose?

Nope what I meant is that no water siphoned out. It only came out when the drain kicked on. Which is how it should be

Quote: Quote: Do I need to have a trap installed?

A drain trap is always the best idea.

Quote: does it matter what the slope is of the drain after the trap? I.e should it be straight down? Currently its goes sideways for a while and then down

Both -could- be bad...longer run or heavy pull can suck the water out of something above.

From what I'm seeing I need to adjust the slope of trap/drain downstairs. Since I have the hose routed at the top of the counter and down I shouldn't need an air gap I would assume and it shouldn't sipon out.

I've just registered so I can say thank you for the instructions, pictures, and access to the right Kenmore/Whirlpool manual!!! I dismantled enough of our dishwasher (the 665.1703,etc., that everyone has troubles with) with your help and a few trips to the store to get the right torx screwdrivers--and the glasses are sparkling once again! I am giddy with my success--thanks!

Quote: the plumbing in question is a bit wishy-washy and should be corrected.

JMO!

jeff.

I couldn't agree more. That said I'm kinda stuck until we redo the kitchen next year and put it in a proper setup. What we do know:

Draining it into a tank downstairs makes it work dramatically better than tying into the kitchen sink below the trap.

Jeff: What do you suggest? Should I run ABS all the way across downstairs (and have a trap as well) and up into behind the DW? And then but an air gap above the connection? Or should I keep the existing setup and find a siphon break?

Again many thanks...I know things aren't "standard" at this point but I would've thought it'd be easy to stop the siphoning....considering I do have the hose looped to the top of the cabinet now.

Thanks for the very helpful information. One more question to help a newbie get started if you'd be so kind: in order to access the problematic filter and be able to clean it (and thus hopefully get the top rack cleaning again), I take it that I need to unscrew the feeder tube and lift out the lower spray arm, as shown at pp. 17-18 of this manual: https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/Sr...ILE/8178022.pdf However, to do so I need to remove the upper rack, and I can't figure out how to do so - it doesn't just lift off. My model number is 665.17039401, purchased in February 2005. Thanks

Thanks for the very helpful information. One more question to help a newbie get started if you'd be so kind: in order to access the problematic filter and be able to clean it (and thus hopefully get the top rack cleaning again), I take it that I need to unscrew the feeder tube and lift out the lower spray arm, as shown at pp. 17-18 of this manual: https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/Sr...ILE/8178022.pdf However, to do so I need to remove the upper rack, and I can't figure out how to do so - it doesn't just lift off. My model number is 665.17039401, purchased in February 2005. Thanks

I was amazed to find this post from AwsumO on 6/28/2010 at 4:14pm describing the "exact" problem I'm having with our Kenmore dishwasher. That is, some sort of fiber is routinely clogging the holes in the food grinder. I thought it had to be something we were putting in the dashwasher, but after reading this posintg there must be some nother explantion (i.e. something wearing).

Hello! This is a great post. I am making progress on fixing my 66516882000 because of this post. I can't get the inlet protector off to see the chopper assembly. I have already removed the inlet protector screw, the foreign object protector, and the foreign object protector screw. Any ideas? I've been trying to pry it out but it's not budging.

Okay, used a pliers to yank out the inlet protector. The chopper assembly fell apart immediately into the sump area. It looks from parts pages and videos that this assembly is supposed to stay together, so I ordered a new one. It's not clear to me from the pieces what happened to it. I'll reply again after I get the new assembly.

I had this problem with my dishwasher and I found that if I stopped putting large pans or pyrex dishes in the bottom that lean over, the water can get to the top rack. I am not a repairman, just a working housewife. This helped my problem.